We all know that Henry the VIII had six wives, but how much do you know about Holland’s very own William of Orange ? Did you know he had 4 wives? If you are interested, then I have just the thing for you because most of the correspondence by William and his 4 wives has survived.

In a series of blogposts, I will tell you all about these four noble ladies and the letters William wrote to them…and about them.

William was born on 24 April 1533 as the oldest son of count William of Nassau (also called William the Rich) and his 2nd wife Juliana van Stolberg. William’s cousin René de Chalon, prince of Orange, died when William was just 10 years old, making William an instant prince himself. Orange was a principality north of Marseille, in our modern times it is a Southern French town of roughly 29,000 inhabitants.

William wrote many, many letters. The archives in The Hague still have about 4000 letters written by and to him. Yes, four thousand! It really is a lot.

In the 16th century, noble marriages were business arrangements. Love did not matter so much. If you liked your spouse, you were lucky. In the case of William and Anna, it was an arrangement based on politics, money and power.

William’s first wife was the wealthy Anna van Egmond, countess of Buren (1533- 1558). They were married when they were both 18, on July 8, 1551.

Anna came from a noble house connected to the Austrian Habsburg family. Anna’s properties, among with the county of Buren, made William a wealthy and powerful man.

Because William went on a campaign in early 1552, the couple wrote to eachother regularly and we still have 46 letters that we can see and read online. For me, and I think for you too, it is particularly adorable that he (lovesick 18 y.o. that he is) starts all his letters with Ma Femme. It is clear they were on good terms, for example in a letter from 1553 he urges that she takes medicine for an ailment.

Anna gives him political advice as well apparently, here he writes “I am asking your advice”. He ends this letter with Vostre Bien Bon Mari, your dear and good husband (something along those lines, as bien and bon are similar).

Anna had 3 children with William, 1 passed away in infancy. Anna passed away in March 1558, at the age of 25 after a marriage of only 7 years. Anna van Egmond is buried in the Church of our Dear Lady in Breda.